The Charlotte Hornets’ Kemba Walker is one of the most intriguing players in the NBA. Walker is a talented point guard, but in a league where there are multiple All-Stars at the position, he tends to get overlooked. Not helping his case for recognition is the fact that the Hornets haven’t been very good. The team did make the playoffs as a sixth seed in 2016; where they were beaten by Dwayne Wade and the Miami Heat in the first round.
Last season, however, the Hornets saw little success. Walker’s knee issues kept him away from the court for an extended period. Additionally, offseason moves, such as losing backup point guard Jeremy Lin to the Brooklyn Nets only made matters worse. Without anyone to consistently lead the team, Charlotte could only muster 36 wins for the season.
Even in a weak Eastern Conference, you have to win more games to make the playoffs. Increasing his team’s win total is what Kemba plans to do.
Victoria Nguyen of The Score caught up with Walker in New York to discuss his offseason rehab, his goals for the upcoming season, and if he’ll reach out to Kobe for a season challenge.
I spoke to All-Star @KembaWalker about his knee rehab, leading @hornets back to playoffs in weakened East, #MambaChallenge, All-NBA ambition pic.twitter.com/L2Ow7lMKro
— Victoria Nguyen (@NBAjournalist) September 4, 2017
The Eastern Conference has softened a bit at the top. If Kemba can stay healthy, the Hornets may have enough talent with offseason addition Dwight Howard and lottery pick Malik Monk to compete for a playoff spot this season. As far as Walker’s All-NBA goals are concerned, he could have a bit of trouble meeting those expectations. Steve Cho and the front office may have added more talent around him, but he still has ways to go to prove that his talent can lead the team to where it wants to go, the playoffs. Whenever Kemba catches up to Kobe, that could be the challenge he has waiting for him.
